Posts Tagged ‘Real Estate Agents’

Real estate leads are as good as gold to a real estate professional – literally. The real estate leads you follow up with today are your clients tomorrow and your paycheck a month from now. Much of your time as a real estate professional is spent generating real estate leads and converting those leads to clients. The advent of the Internet and its emergence into main stream culture brought a new tool to real estate agents in the late 90s: online lead generation services.

Nowadays, the majority of people looking to buy or sell a home or do anything real estate wise are going to the internet first. Years ago, people would get ready to buy or sell, and then walk into a local Realty office and get themselves a real estate agents. Now, they can start researching real estate anywhere from 3 months to 5 years before they actually make a move! That means real estate professionals need to come up with new ways to catch these real estate leads early, so they have time to work them and turn them into clients. There are two major ways to do that now: purchasing a lead generation service and paying for real estate leads and creating your own website with contact pages to generate your own real estate leads.

Which way is better? Truthfully, if you’re not doing both, you’re not being as successful as you could be. Any real estate professional who wants to be a top producer NEEDS their own personal website with homeowner information, contact forms, a blog, etc. That way real estate leads can FIND you on the web.

On the other end, the majority of top producers out there not only have their own website, but they also subscribe to one or more lead generation service, such as HouseValues or GetMyHomesValue. Companies such as these sell real estate leads to agents either at a monthly subscription price, or having the agent pay per lead. These services set up websites offering homeowners free home value information in exchange for their contact information. Basically, a homeowner goes and fills out a simple form about themselves, their contact information and their home and submits it to the company’s website. The company in turn, gives this “lead” to whatever real estate professional they have subscribed in that lead’s area and it is up to the real estate agent themselves to work up the value and follow-up with these real estate leads.

Each lead generation company does things a bit differently: for instance, GetMyHomesValue offers exclusive leads – where the lead is given to one and only one agent in the area, whereas other companies out there will sell the same real estate leads to several different agents. HouseValues has extensive e-mail drip campaigns and scripts to make follow-up a bit easier for agents, while GetMyHomesValue has their staff attempt to contact the leads several times for the agent and then leaves the rest of the follow-up to the individual agent.

The criticism most of these lead generation companies receive has to do with what actually constitutes real estate leads. Because these “leads” are filling out information online, they can often give fake information to avoid being contacted. This then makes it harder for the agents to follow up with the leads.

The successful agent, however, does not give up with confronted with real estate leads that give a property address and e-mail address, but a bad name and number. A great agent will exhaust all options of follow up before scrapping ANY lead, such as using public directories like the White Pages online, tax records of the property, reverse look-ups, etc. They will e-mail the lead on a weekly basis and even stop by the property listed in order to determine who actually submitted the lead.

What happens if the owners of the property claim they did not request their home value information, nor are they looking to sell? The no-so-hot agent will be angry at the waste of their time and blame the lead generation company for selling bogus real estate leads. The HOT agent will introduce themselves anyway, offer their services in any way they can and hand out a business card, then lead the home content in the knowledge that although they may not have gotten to the bottom of the lead, they did just add another prospect to their pipeline of real estate leads.

Online lead generation tools are a HUGE asset to real estate professionals – when used correctly. To be successful with real estate leads gathered online, you’ve got to be ready to work hard and long. You may not convert the lead for 6 months, a year, even two years, but as long as you’re working your real estate leads and keeping your name in their head, you’ve got a leg up on the competition.

How to create a Facebook fan page for your business, including how to choose a good page title and tips on what NOT to do. Tailored to real estate agents but useful for any type of business.

Real Estate Agents…..

Who Are They…

Real estate agents are professionals instrumental in connecting the buyer with the seller.

Additionally, many real estate agents manage rentals wherein they introduce tenants to landlords and oversee the maintenance of the property on behalf of the landlords.

In most areas real estate agents are required to be highly educated, licensed and are regulated by a governing body.

Some real estate agents are also Realtors.

To use the title Realtor, a real estate agent must be a member of the National Association of Realtors which in addition to a number of other requirements, requires Realtors to adhere to a strict code of ethics and offers Realtors additional educational and designation opportunities.

Though not required by rule or law, it might be a wise decision to seek the services of a Realtor.

What Do They Do….

Real estate agents bring together two or more interested parties, perform those steps necessary to successfully conclude a transaction and charge a commission for their services.

For sales transactions, they charge commission to the seller while for rentals, commission is typically charged the landlord.

Real estate agents generally calculate their fee as a percentage of the selling price (in the case of a sale) and as part of the rent for rental units.

How Do They Do It…

People who want to sell or rent their property leave details of their property with the real estate agent.

Along with all property details the real estate agent will typically have keys to the house to facilitate showings.

The other interested party (i.e. the buyer/tenant), gets access to this information and to the property by contacting the real estate agent.

That’s how the real estate agent becomes a hub of information.

Contrary to some common misconceptions, real estate agents typically represent the seller or the buyer but rarely both.

Why Should I Use One…

First and foremost, to protect yourself. Real estate transactions are highly regulated, highly paper (document) intensive transactions.

The real estate agent possesses an in depth knowledge of the laws, rules, regulations, disclosures and documentation necessary to successfully complete the transaction to the satisfaction of the buyer, the seller and the law.

Because real estate agents are most familiar with local real estate market conditions, it is wise and makes sense to seek the advice of one to get an idea of the current trends and pricing for properties within that market.

A good real estate agent will know the prices (or price range) of various properties of different types and at various locations within the region.

Because of the real estate agent’s knowledge and expertise, property sellers often get a few thousand dollars more for their property.

Many home seekers, including seasoned real estate investors use the services of real estate agents to locate the best real estate bargains in the easiest and quickest manner.

Furthermore, the best agents analyze the wants and needs of a home buyer/tenant and provide valuable input as to the kinds of properties available to them within their budget. Therefore, a good real estate agent will not just present a list of available properties to the buyer/tenant but will actually discuss their needs and make suggestions.

The good real estate agent, working in this manner benefits in at least two ways…

First and most obviously, when the real estate agent is able to successfully complete the transaction the commission is earned and the real estate agent is paid…

and secondly, if they make the customer/client happy they earn a good reputation and often receive referrals (hence more business).

Worth Noting…

It is worth noting that there is a myth floating around that real estate agents only work on behalf of the seller, buyer beware.

This is not written in stone nor is it always the case. Real estate agents are, in most regions, highly regulated.

With few exceptions, real estate agents work either for the seller (as is the case with many listing agents) or for the buyer (as is the case for a buyer’s agent).

Additionally, some areas allow for dual agency where an agent can work for both the seller and the buyer or as a transaction broker where the agent represents the transaction itself and neither the seller nor buyer individually.

However, in the case of dual agency/transaction brokerage, note that rule, regulation (law) and ethics do not permit the agent to act in favor of either party while in detriment to the other.

If you are unsure of the relationship between you and your real estate agent, do not hesitate to ask.

One of the most important things to remember when you want to have success in the real estate market is that you must choose the right real estate agent, someone who will represent your best interest with the utmost zeal and ability. This is especially important if you know very little about the entire real estate market.

Having a good real estate agent can make sure that you are getting the most out of your real estate experience. Unfortunately, not all real estate agents out there have the qualifications that you may need or may be seeking. In order to find the best and right real estate agent that will suit your needs in the real estate market, you must take a few factors into consideration before you choose a real estate that would represent you.

Before anything else, you should always remember that a real estate agent is just like a salesperson in a way that he or she is trying to sell someone a house. The agent could be working for either a buyer or a seller, depending on what purpose he or she was hired for. Nonetheless, their main mission is still to sell. It is important that you look for real estate agents that have the capability to sell any real estate property. This will help put you at ease knowing that the real estate agent that you have chosen can do his or her job well, thereby increasing the amount of confidence and trust that you have for him or her.

It also helps if you can determine what the real estate agent’s area of expertise is. Since some real estate agents are more specialized and have more knowledge about certain areas, you need to make sure that the real estate agent that you are choosing is knowledgeable and skilled enough in the particular area that you may need him or her for. If an agent has been living in the area that where your real estate property is located, then it can greatly help in how he or she markets and sells the property to other potential buyers since he or she is already familiar with the area, and knows a little something about it.

A good real estate agent is also very accessible and should always be readily available to his or her client. In this way, the agent can make sure that he or she is able to address any queries or problems that the client may have regarding the real estate properties that he or she is planning on selling or buying. There is nothing worse than a real estate agent that is very inaccessible. Any good real estate agent should always be there for his or her client, just so he or she can make sure that the client gets the best result from the whole real estate experience.

Any good real estate agent should also be experienced, but should also be educated. This will help make sure that your real estate agent is able to handle your account without problems and with high competence. You would rather have your account be handled by someone who has a college degree and has a lot of experience in the whole real estate process, as opposed to a high school drop out who has little to no sales yet. You need your real estate agent to take control of the whole process, which is why he or she needs to be very competent and skilled in the matter in order to make sure that your best interest is not overlooked.

Vanessa Arellano Doctor

http://realestatepress.org

The real estate scenario in Spain is booming. Spanish properties have never been more in demand. According to experts, the development of Spain, the emergence of world class resorts like Polaris World and La Cala Golf Resort, and the increasing prominence of Spain on the international map due to America’s Cup in 2007 and the upcoming Grand Prix in 2008, are the reasons why the land prices in the country are showing a skywards trend. Another important factor that has contributed to the increasing land rates in Spain is the booming tourism industry.

Not only the residents of Spain, but even people from all over the world are expressing a keen interest in investing in Spanish properties. Residents of the picturesque country have ample information and knowledge regarding the location and the viability of the land that they wish to buy. But for people who are not residents of Spain, the best source of information would either be real estate agents in Spain or certain websites on the Internet that provide information and can guide the reader through the best land deals.

Properties can either be bought or even taken on rent/lease for a stipulated period of time. Everything, right from apartments of all sizes to townhouses and penthouses to the magnificent villas, is all part of the real estate deals. Some of the investments in Spanish properties has paid rich dividends to the country’s economy, like the coming up of the world’s best resorts, which has become a Spanish tourist attraction in their own right.

Some of the important factors to be considered while choosing a property in Spain are the viable location of the property, easy accessibility to the place, amenities available and stable and pleasant weather conditions. Spain has a number of unique locations to choose from; and the investor/buyer will have a variety of option to consider before finally investing in Spanish properties.

The real estate industry is very sensitive to economic changes like interest rates and the cost of materials in building houses. Interest rates in particular can easily swing the number of sales that are completed during any quarter of the year. Rising interest rates will slow down the sales and falling rates will aid the sales of real estate. This is an important fact in the real estate business as this can absolutely cause rapid changes in income from the sales that can be made.

With this in mind, the time to buy an agency that comes up for sale may be when the real estate business is in the doldrums. A hot real estate market will make an existing firm worth more, as their income will be higher during this period of time. Of course if you follow this course of action, you will have to wait out the slow down in the markets. Another factor in the purchase or start-up a real estate company is the state licensing requirements. Most states have serious requirements for real estate agents and brokers. Brokers have a much stiffer requirement in most states than an agent. The requirements include passing exams and a fixed number of educational hours for both agents and brokers. There is also a requirement for continuing education. These state mandated steps to a career in the real estate business would have to be met before an agency could be purchased or started. Since this industry is regulated and has strong legal steps to comply with, this licensing plus experience would be an initial step to being an owner in this field. This is not a business that can be stepped into by just paying out some money.

An agent can have the goal of owning their own firm, but it will take planning and meeting the state rules to make this happen. Once a potential owner has these steps out of the way, finding an existing business to buy will be in order. A quick check of real estate business listings reveals that they are usually found in larger cities and the asking price is significant. There are also resales of franchise companies. Just typing into a search engine, “Real estate businesses for sale”, came up with this quick check. A buyer could also check with business brokers and real estate brokers in their city. Another source worth checking out would be a franchise connection. An in place real estate business is advantages as the name is already known and will get clients due to this. When you start a company from the ground up you do not have this advantage. An existing business with several locations will come with a higher price tag than what you could start your own business for.

Another way to gain ownership would be buying into an existing business. This could work if you have a solid relationship with the current owner. The problem is you will not have the final say in most decisions unless you are buying controlling interest.

Specialty real estate firms

Most people think about a firm that helps with the buying and selling a home. There are several other areas of specialization. A real estate firm could become expert in buying and selling commercial property, farmland and farms, farm product processing plants, rental properties and shopping centers. Actually a broker could cut out a niche market from many that are available in the real estate business. If you have an area of expertise, this could become something that could be marketable and cut out a lot of competition in certain situations. Some real estate firms have unique departments that handle certain types of real estate marketing. The decision you must make is what kind of a firm are you going to own. You may have to start your own in order to make it happen.

You could also get into real estate management and the buying and selling of these rental properties, which is a very unique part of the industry. Shopping center related firms could be in from the start of a project. They can help with the formation of the firm to build and own the property and then handle the rentals and day-to-day management of the center.

The point of all of this is there are areas of real estate specialization that lend themselves to a business that just works in this real estate category.

Finding the money to make your dream happen

You may not have the total purchase price for an existing business. The question is how do you come up with the balance to make the deal. Finding a source to lend you the money is one way to come up with the needed funds. There are businesses that offer loans to new owners of businesses. These can be found on the Internet by just doing a search. Family and friends could be another source of money. One way to get the needed money is to take in a partner for the business. If you have a friend in the business maybe they would be interested in owning part of the existing company. All of these possible money suppliers will have different requirements for paying the money back. Make sure you can see your way clearly on how you will accomplish the pay back. This business can be adversely affected by interest rates so you would need a second way to make the payments. A person thinking about ownership in this field must remember that it can be feast or famine as far as sales and commissions go. This is not like being in the restaurant business or owning a printing company. Successful brokers can make considerable money in a good market. They can also have periods that are very tight as to sales. The brokers that succeed have a policy of putting away some of their earnings during good times to cover the less profitable times. Doing this just shows the broker has a realistic view of the business.

Conclusions

This business can be extremely profitable during low interest rate economies. The legal and state requirements make the ownership of a brokerage firm more difficult to own than is the case with other businesses. Buying and selling a real estate business is somewhat more difficult due to the restrictions that are placed on the owner of a real estate firm. You must have the appropriate licenses in place before you can begin operation. This is true whether you buy a company or start one up from scratch. Finding a firm you can afford will take some time and research on your part. Hiring a professional business broker may speed up the search.

Deciding early on if you want to be a specialist will set other decisions in place. Niche areas that you are an expert in will help cut the competition somewhat. A general real estate business will have the potential for more clients, but will need and ongoing advertising campaign to gain listings and clients looking to buy. The start-up is cheaper to open, but will have little cash flow like an existing firm. Money flow is the one huge advantage buying an existing business offers to the new owner.

When looking at an investment, it is important that you consider its commercial property market value. Market value is a very slippery term, and can differ widely depending on how you compute it. Opinions of marketable value can vary greatly. The realtor may think a location has a certain value, but the appraisal might be completely different.

If nobody is willing to pay the amount you have placed on a property, then that is obviously not its true business worth. Additionally complicating things, you can expect the projected business worth to change almost constantly.

Generally, the market value can be defined as the maximum amount that a property will sell for in a “regular” transaction – with both parties fully informed and knowledgeable, and no outside issues affecting the transaction.

Frequently, though, if someone is buying real estate, they have a variety of factors affecting their decision, and a lot of different mental processes that lead them to the final decision. The best real estate agents are able to fully understand these mental processes to facilitate smooth transactions between the buyer and the seller.

But if you are not dealing directly with a buyer, you will have to do your best to estimate the commercial property market value. You can use a number of tools to do this for you.

In fact, many companies offer property analysis services that will tell you how likely an investment is to make profitable returns. They will require some basic information about the property, and you may have to find out some information about the local real estate market, but once you have that information, the process will be very easy.

You can quickly determine if a commercial property market value will lead to returns on your investment, or if the demand is too poor to merit investing.

While it is impossible to get an exact amount that will guarantee a lucrative sale, it is definitely worth it to attempt to estimate a figure.

Once you have a basic figure that you expect to earn from a commercial property, you will be able to plan the future of your investments more accurately. Whether you earn more or less than you expected, you are still likely to make a profit near your estimate.

This is very helpful, particularly if you want to decide what you will be doing with the returns on an investment – i.e. if you decide to re-invest the money into different properties.

If you want to get into the real estate business, you should carefully plan how you are going to figure out the commercial property market value of your prospective investments.

You can estimate it on your own, or you can pay for expensive appraisals on properties that you haven not even decided you want yet. Or, you can use a property analysis service, and make it easy to estimate the commercial property market value.

You can use formulas, software, guides, and any other tools that are offered. It makes the process easier, and it definitely pays for itself.

If you’re a real estate agent that does not sell multifamily or other investment real estate at least some portion of the time, then you’re missing out on a great opportunity to build your real estate business.

Moreover, I believe that any real estate agent can sell multifamily property just by learning a few basics, whether they’re a novice to real estate investing or not.

Hey, when I started in real estate, I made the jump from residential real estate to income property sales almost immediately. Just six months into my real estate career I sold a shopping center and made a $24,000 commission…and I knew less about real estate investing then what you’re about to discover in this article.

But I digress.

The point is that you don’t have to become a commercial real estate specialist to sell rental property. Yes, commercial expertise is necessary to service some properties, e.g., leasing, but ordinary real estate agents can typically handle multifamily property transactions quite successfully, and generally do when they want to. That’s how I did it, and so can you.

Moreover, don’t sell yourself short. If you’re a real estate agent, then you are certainly in a great position to work with income property sellers and buyers. Remember what we learned about real estate, that it’s a “contact sport”. Think about it. Investors walk and call in to real estate offices, are previous customers, relatives, friends, and neighbors. In truth, we’re surrounded by potential real estate investment customers.

Finally, strike the thought that any effort you make to sell rental property won’t be worth it. The untold secret about investment property, what others would not want you to discover, is that real estate investors typically purchase more than one property over time. Moreover, unlike home buyers (who purchase one house), real estate investors are known to purchase multiple properties plus, are often willing to sell for the “right price” because there’s no emotional attachment like with a home.

In other words, when you get the opportunity to work with one investor on one transaction, you potentially are setting the stage for multiple transactions.

Okay, now let’s go down the list.

1) Make the Decision

Foremost, decide to make some portion of your real estate business investment business. You don’t have to throw your residential business under a train. If you want to keep selling houses, great, just don’t get started with rental property half-heartedly. If you need an incentive, bear in mind that investment properties can easily generate multi-million dollar transactions equal to three or four residential transactions; therefore, a golden opportunity to bolster your annual earnings in this troubled housing market.

2) Learn the Basics

Unlike residential property, where amenities like kitchen size and school district are important to buyers, other than how they impact rents, amenities generally mean little to those who buy investment property. Real estate investing is about the numbers.

As such, investors are less impressed by an agent’s style and panache than they are with the agent’s ability to discuss investment property and provide timely numbers and reports. It’s not about Armani and Mercedes. Listen. When an investor asks, “What’s the property’s cap rate?” and you have the answer, that’s all you need to start making the right kind of favorable impression that will keep the investor from dumping you for your competition.

At the very least know how to compute capitalization rate and gross rent multiplier and be able to create an APOD. There are numerous websites devoted to real estate investment definitions and formulas where you can learn what you need easily, including my website.

3) Tool Up

Investing a few dollars for quality real estate investment software that enables you to create cash flow, rates of return, and profitability presentations is one of the best tools you can procure for real estate investing, bar none. Here’s why.

Foremost, it makes a statement to investors that you work with rental income property. Presenting quality reports with concise financial data suggests to investors that you’re serious about investment property, can assist in a sound buying decision, and might genuinely care about how the investor spends his or her money. It’s about winning investor confidence.

Secondly, it tells your colleagues that you work with rental income property. This benefits your business because it gives you income property credibility and in turn can lead to additional referral business.

Thirdly, you can learn about rental income property. Almost by default, the formulas, returns, and reports generated in real estate investment software tend to rub off. It’s as a customer of mine remarked, that my software contains everything about real estate investing it took him 15 years to learn. You get the idea.

4) Prepare

You’re making a crucial mistake if you wait until you’re confronted by an investor to learn the terms or buy the software. Urgency is always an issue when investors make the decision to buy or sell investment property, and if they see you pause or scramble for answers, they’re not going to have qualms about calling someone else. Winning or losing a sale often rests solely on the perception a customer develops within seconds during the first encounter. Don’t blow it.

5) Promote

Finally, let people know that you work with multifamily property. Foremost, call your residential customers and ask whether they’ve considered investing in real estate. Remember, investors are homeowners. Tell your relatives and friends. Obviously, the more people that know you’re prepared and equipped to do a real estate analysis and run rates of return for them, the better. I’m preaching to the choir, here, of course, but I can’t emphasize enough the impact your preparation for investment real estate will have on others.

Here’s to your success

The GREATEST real estate agent in the world is an interesting topic of conversation as well as being a contest.

Now, let me explain first that I do not consider myself the “Greatest real estate agent in the world” but I do consider myself a very adept and professional real estate agent who offers the finest real estate services in Panama City, Florida!

However, this sounds like a fun contest and I thought I would enter and have a little fun with it.

So, let’s begin…

I believe there is much more to the true nature of being the “Greatest real estate agent in the world”, I also believe that it’s about understanding, learning and offering the greatest real estate services available. Anywhere!

What goes into being the “Greatest real estate agent in the world”? Well, in my opinion there are allot of things agents can do to help their primary focus of selling real estate and assisting their customers in purchasing real estate:

Advertising - The agent must be focused and advertise not only to achieve a strong market penetration, but also be able to reach the most qualified readers for their advertisement.

Market and Product Knowledge - The agent must maintain a strong and thorough knowledge of their local real estate market. To this they must spend hours researching sales and listings, expired listings and withdrawn listings.

Honest and ethical – One trait I believe sets the “Greatest real estate agent in the world” apart from other agents is their ability to be honest and hold their morals and ethics to the very highest of standards! Their dealings with not only their clients and customers must exemplify high moral and ethical behavior, but also their dealings with other real estate agents as well as supporting professionals such as Loan offices, builders, contractors etc.

Investment foresight – I believe another strong trait is the ability to be able to discern which properties make the strongest case for their clients and customers investment strategy. Not only being able to calculate rates of return, Gross Rent Multipliers, Potential Gross Income and other variables but also understanding how these variables affect the purchase of a customers or clients real estate investment strategy!

Technology insight – Being able to not only understand the technology that exists today to assist a real estate agent in their business but also having the ability to apply that technology is a paramount consideration today.

As technology becomes a more important part of our daily lives, it also becomes a primary tool to provide additional services and assistance to real estate agents clients and customers.

The application of technology, aside from having a website is no easy task. After all, the expertise of real estate agent is selling real estate! However, the ability to utilize and implement effectively the available software and hardware in an agents business will allow that agent to be recognized as a leader in their market and industry.

These are but a few of the factors that go into making the “Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World” a reality for any real estate agent in today’s highly competitive real estate market.

In my opinion, there is so much to becoming the greatest, that to actually decide who this person is would be beyond the abilities of most experts today.

However, we as real estate agents must continue to strive to be the best we can be for our local market place. Our eye on the prize of being the “Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World” should remain our focus through out our careers.

Buying property in Cyprus has become very popular amongst British investors. The island offers almost year-round sunshine, good quality of life and some very cheap property deals. But before you rush out and take advantage of this sunshine island, there are a few things to consider before making a property investment.

Before you even open negotiations with an estate agent in Cyprus, you must check to ensure that they are fully licensed and insured. All estate agents are required by law to be licensed and the certificate must be displayed in the office. Legal estate agents are members of the Cyprus Real Estate Agents Association (CREAA).

Once you have found your property you will need to decide how you want to pay for it. You can either go for the straightforward option and buy with cash, you can re-mortgage your home if the property is a second home (but do remember that your home may be at risk if you do not keep up with payments) or you can finance your property with a mortgage from a Cypriot bank. A financial advisor experienced in buying property in Cyprus will be able to give you the best advice as to which option to choose.

Regardless of the cost of the property itself and how you finance it, there are additional costs that you will have to fund yourself. The reservation fee is paid to the estate agent or developer once you have agreed on the price and payment terms. Legal fees will also be a major expense (as with buying any property) and you will need to be prepared to pay around 0.75% of the purchase price to cover legal costs. There will also be stamp duty to pay on the contract price. Agency fees are paid by the vendor and you should not be asked to pay any additional fees to cover agency costs.

If you decide to buy a property in Cyprus through a mortgage, there are certain restrictions as to how much you can borrow. Cyprus residents can arrange up to 90% mortgages, although EU residents are required to provide a minimum deposit of 20% of the purchase price. All Cypriot banks charge arrangement fees of between 0.75-1% of the amount of the mortgage and most mortgages are based on a 10 year repayment term.

Once you have paid your reservation fee on a property it will immediately be withdrawn from sale. You now have up to 28 days to do all your searches and surveys and appoint a lawyer to carry out the legal checks and agree a contract. Your lawyer will normally prepare a contract of sale in English, but before signing do check that all the details are absolutely correct. Once the contract of sale has been signed it becomes a legally binding document and you have a further 28 days to complete the purchase.

Buying property in Cyprus is very similar to the system used in the UK, but it is essential that you appoint a lawyer familiar with Cypriot law and procedure. As long as you ensure that the process is followed to the letter and every detail is correct before making a final commitment, buying property in Cyprus is a worthwhile investment and there are still plenty of bargains to be had on this beautiful island.